


selected excerpts from 'Ordeal by Fire: Magical Britain after the Burning of Hogwarts'

by Idle_Hans



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Aftermath, Disasters, Dragons, Gen, Oral History, Triwizard Tournament
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:21:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24869815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Idle_Hans/pseuds/Idle_Hans
Summary: Spare a thought for those left behind.
Comments: 21
Kudos: 120





	1. The Loss

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Island of Fire](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3236603) by [esama](https://archiveofourown.org/users/esama/pseuds/esama). 



> This work spins off from [Chapter One](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3236603/chapters/7050041) of **esama** 's _Island of Fire_ , which I unreservedly recommend to all readers. Go read it now. I'll wait. 
> 
> In that story, the First Task of the 1994 TriWizard Tournament goes catastrophically wrong. Consequences include the destruction of Hogwarts Castle; the burning of the Forbidden Forest; untold deaths; four enraged, brain-damaged adult dragons getting loose; and the permanent disappearance from that universe of about a hundred students from all three tournament schools, including almost all named, non-adult, non-Slytherin characters in the seven Harry Potter books.
> 
> * * *
> 
> _p.s. Please forgive my Scots dialect. I got it off the Web, and we all know how badly that can go awry._
> 
> * * *

It's little wonder the dragons went berserk. One hears ugly rumours — rumours that no stock-bred dragon is ever quite right in the head: which if true certainly wouldn't have helped — but any brooding mother would be utterly maddened by the destruction of her eggs. Why they weren't more tightly secured, I shall never know. The number of dragon handlers on site was drastically below international standard.

According to eyewitnesses, once loose the dragons spent a good few minutes raining fire upon the Forbidden Forest before turning their attention to the grounds of the school itself. Some initial effort was made to quench the forest fire, but the witches and wizards involved instantly turned their efforts to the equally vain task of saving the castle once it, also, was set ablaze.

Because the fire started in the section of the forest nearest the castle, only a handful of creatures were able to flee onto the school grounds, or into the outskirts of Hogsmeade. Almost all the forest's inhabitants were driven in the other direction by the spreading flames: right to the edge of the anti-Muggle wards, and beyond them. Eventually the inferno reached the very outer edges of the forest, leaving Scotland's largest collection of magical creatures with nowhere to go but out into open land.

No amount of concealment wards can hide a massive forest wildfire in Scotland in late November, so of course the local Muggles, and the Muggle authorities, and the Muggle press all turned out to take a look. And when they arrived, what did they see? They saw centaurs, unicorns, thestrals, hippogriffs, forest trolls, wild werewolves, acromantulas, even blood-sucking bugbears; and the whole scene was lit up bright as day by a wall of flames. Which meant the cameras got a good look at everything.

— _Abraham Grimblehawk, Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures_

* * *

Looking back, yes, we should have looked into shielding the eggs from accidental damage. But the tournament was a test of skill, a test of achieving a goal. We did deduct points from Krum for the broken eggs.

— _Ludovic Bagman, then Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports_

* * *

Is a slander to blame my Viktor. None would dare this were he here. Viktor competed within rules and awarded equal highest score.

— _Georgi Krum, father of Durmstrang student and TriWizard Tournament contestant Viktor Krum_

* * *

We were understaffed on the day, that's very true. We did have adequate numbers when the four dragons were being brought on site, but those supplemental workers were returned to their normal duties at Mynydd Cudd and the Department of Creatures until after the contest. It was thought by the tournament organisers that smaller numbers would be needed in the meantime, even on the day itself, because containment facilities were in place and only one dragon would require handling at any one time. I disagreed but was not in a position to make other arrangements. My staff back in Wales had their hands full with all the nesting mothers and anxiously hovering fathers there.

Yes, male dragons do hover when eggs are hatching. No, not literally.

Well, the Fireball was bereft at having crushed some of her eggs when she was curse-blinded, and she broke loose; and then the others got worked up and broke loose as well, crushing some of the Swedish Short-Snout's eggs, and the Welsh Green's. Which only got all four dragons into more of a frenzy.

In all the chaos I saw one of the Ridgebit Sanctuary workers — Weasley, his name was, English fellow — set about retrieving the remaining eggs. A defensible move in some respects — eggs are just as precious as the adults — and for all I know he'd been ordered to do it. His boss — my Romanian counterpart — didn't survive, so we can't ask her. I'd have liked all wands in play with the mother dragons themselves, but it wouldn't have made much difference to tell truth. It was always a losing battle given how few of us there were. They drove us back then took to the air and set fire to the forest surrounding the encampment to keep trouble at bay.

Anyhow, once the four mothers had the forest nicely ablaze, they set the school roof and upper stories well on fire. The castle was the highest point for a few miles; it's where they themselves would have perched, given the choice, so they sought to deny it to unknown enemies.

Then they went after the crowds of fleeing people.

No, it's not that they were working in concert. Dragons aren't smart enough for that, and they were all different species and saw each other as much as a threat as anything else. It's just they were all in the same cauldron: frightened angry mothers in foreign territory, seeking to protect their brood, and with far too many humans around for comfort. So their instincts all had them doing the same thing.

— _Butler Diddit, Senior Dragon Handler, Hidden Mountain (Mynydd Cudd) Dragon Reserve, Wales_

* * *

It's true the Hebridean Dragon Grounds are closer to Hogwarts than the Welsh reserve, and Clan MacFusty is the largest group of experienced dragon handlers in Britain. My understanding is that, when approached by TriWizard Tournament organisers, the clan declined to be involved in preparing or overseeing the dragon task, citing concerns about the wisdom of introducing dragons to a school environment.

— _Abraham Grimblehawk_

* * *

Glaikitnes, the lot of it! Told twally Bagman, "Awa' an' bile yer heid! Gonnae no' dae that!" Dafty wee numpties pokin' at draggins fer fun? Try that, yer a chancer an' yer gettin' skelped. An' lookit what happened!

— _Conall MacFusty, Laird of Clan MacFusty_

* * *

The inventor of Fiendfyre is said to have been inspired by witnessing a dragon attack. Dragonflame does not set fire to stone, but it does overcome most fire-proofing wards, and a surprising amount of your average castle isn't stone, so it went up like a Beltane bonfire. Hogwarts, that is.

— _Aurora Sinistra, then Astronomy Professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

* * *

The name 'Hogwarts' is an ages-old bit of schoolchild humour that grew into universal usage. The founders called the school _'Heuch Warth'_ : crag beacon. A beacon of light and learning for a thousand years .... and then in a few moments Heuch Warth Castle became a beacon of flame and fire; of loss and destruction.

In the wrong circumstances, magic itself can burn, and the castle was utterly soaked in it. The dragons merely set it alight.

— _Bathsheda Babbling, then Study of Ancient Runes Professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

* * *

We're fairly sure there weren't any students inside at the time, and the House Elves all got out, but a lot of students' familiars died, and at least two staff. Sybil Trelawney would have been right at the top of the Divination tower with no chance of getting out, and we now know that the real Alastor Moody must have been hidden somewhere in the Defence teacher's quarters.

— _Aurora Sinistra_

* * *

Polyjuice potion can imitate only a living subject. It follows that if the subject dies, any polyjuice made on a sample from them immediately loses all effectiveness.

— _Severus Snape, then Potions Master and Head of Slytherin House at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

* * *

The man we'd all thought was Alastor Moody put up a fierce fight, helping [Severus] Snape and me keep the dragons distracted from going after the students fleeing to Hogsmeade. So he knew how to stay in character. But then the Horntail started strafing the field with blasts of flame, and it was definitely time to regroup. As we made a dash for the Viaduct Courtyard — plenty of shelter there, and you can cast in any direction — the fake Moody tripped over his wooden leg. The disguise was wearing off, you see, and his real leg was growing back. Well, he rolled over onto his left side and pointed his wand straight at the Horntail — now closing very fast — and he started to shout the Killing Curse.

He only got the first word out before the dragon blasted him to cinders.

— _Rolanda Hooch, then Flying Instructor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

* * *

Upon first examination of the corpse, no identifying features were visible save for the Dark Mark on the left arm. That arm was the least damaged part of the body, and the magics of the Mark had protected that section of skin against flame damage. It was black against a charred black background, but it was nonetheless visible. A magical reconstruction was performed on the body and we were chagrined to see the visage forming of Bartemius Crouch Junior, a convicted Death Eater recorded as having died in Azkaban twelve years ago.

— _Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement_

* * *

The dragons continued to attack until everyone was dead, fled, or hiding. In spite of the disaster of her first portkey, Deputy Headmistress McGonagall saved hundreds of lives with further portkeys before she herself was forced to flee; and many others escaped on foot to beyond the castle gates where it was possible to apparate away; but the path from the tournament stadium to the gates was later found to be littered with charred corpses. Most of these were dignitaries and adult guests. The children who died were mostly burned or scalded — and then drowned — in the lake.

When there was no one left to attack, the dragons flew away in search of their stolen young. The surviving eggs are thought to have vanished in the portkey accident, but of course the dragons didn't know that.

— _Gaye O'Parrell, freelance journalist_

* * *

Slytherin was the only Hogwarts house to suffer no fatalities that day. This is a very great credit to the Slytherin prefects who remained clear-headed, protected their fellow students, and led them to safety in Hogsmeade; and also a great credit to the entire house for demonstrating survival in unity.

— _Severus Snape_

* * *

To this day I still don't know quite what I was thinking. A rope is an easy thing to conjure, to charm as a portkey, and for many people to crowd along it and all grab hold — but it's _flammable_!

Having made the portkey, and cast it across the largest group of people near to me, I turned away and began to make a second portkey for the people on my other side, and to give everyone in the first group time to grab the rope. Then the cries of alarm drew my attention to the approaching Chinese Fireball. I cast the activation spell immediately, but a portkey for so many people always takes a second or so to ready itself. I was a second or so too slow. The dragonfire was faster.

The rope burnt through at precisely the wrong moment: the moment between Activation and Destination; which is why only those people holding the section closest to where I cast the enchantment on it arrived safely at the Montrose Magpies Quidditch Ground.

The others ....

All those children ....

I think of them every day.

— _Minerva McGonagall, then Deputy Headmistress, Transfiguration Professor, and Head of Gryffindor House at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_


	2. The Lost

**Lost Students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

Hannah Abbott, Ellen Applegate, Marcus Belby, Quincy Bennet, Susan Bones, Terry Boot, Elanor Branstone, Mandy Brocklehurst, Lavender Brown, Melvin Catterick, Linda Chaddesley, Cho Chang, Iain Claverdon, Ritchie Coote, Michael Corner, Dennis Creevey, Roger Davies, Cedric Diggory { _TriWizard Tournament Contestant_ }, Ananyo Dhillon, Thora Dinnet, Marietta Edgecombe, Harriet Ellesmere, Kevin Entwhistle, Margaret Ettington, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Seamus Finnigan, Terrence Fogarty, Helen Fortescue, Victoria Frobisher, Jarod Gilliam, Anthony Goldstein, Hermione Granger, Brendon Halkirk, Thelma Holmes, Wayne Hopkins, Angelina Johnson, Lee Jordan, Megan Jones, Ashok Khanna, Andrew Kirke, Lauren Lewis, Sue Li, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, Natalie McDonald, Morag MacDougal, Ernie Macmillan, Laura Madley, Sisi Makerere, Anna Mirfield, Hecate Oakham, Thomas Paley, Sherwood Partington, Padma Patil, Parvati Patil, Gayle Pocklington, Harry Potter { _supplemental TriWizard Tournament Contestant_ }, Orla Quirke, Latisha Randle, Anthony Rickett, Oliver Rivers, Demelza Robins, Ophelia Rushden, Roderick Seaton, Sophia Slater, Jack Sloper, Zacharias Smith, Alicia Spinnet, Patricia Stimpson, Jason Swann, Dean Thomas, Lewis Thorverton, Kenneth Towler, Romilda Vane, Frederick Weasley, George Weasley, Ginevra Weasley, Ronald Weasley, Gerard Willerby, Nigel Wolpert, Aron Woodbridge, Rose Zeller

* * *

  
**Lost Hogwarts Alumni**

Penelope Clearwater, Charles Weasley, Percy Weasley, Oliver Wood

* * *

  
**Lost Students of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic**

Fleur Delacour { _TriWizard Tournament Contestant_ }, Máeva Léger, Jean-Ives Pentelle, Léa Pépin, Phil Sardou, Anne-Laure Valluy

* * *

  
**Lost Students of Durmstrang Institute**

Tatýana Anasenko, Elias Dahl, Petra Eszes, Zenona Garanča, Sofia Hertzfeld, Juras Kanuz, Viktor Krum { _TriWizard Tournament Contestant_ }, Yermolai Poliakoff, Liezbeth Strater, Krista Sisask


	3. The Legacy

My parents were frantic. My little sister nearly died in her first year at Hogwarts, and now just eighteen months later she and all five of my brothers were nowhere to be found. Eventually, Dad got Mum home by suggesting they check the family clock. It's enchanted to show the circumstances of each member of the family. When they looked at it, the clock seemed to be jammed. It wasn't registering that the two of them were now home, and the indicator hands for everyone else but me were all stuck between _'Travelling'_ and _'Lost'_. So Mum reset the clock. She moved all the hands to neutral positions and then restarted the mechanism. The hands for her and Dad moved to _'Home'_ , and my hand moved to _'Work'_ , which proved the clock could still track people as far away as Egypt; but the other hands just endlessly circled as though they couldn't get a fix.

I'm a curse-breaker by trade, which includes ward-crafting; Dad built the clock in the first place; and it was Mum who'd enchanted it to work. So once I got home to England we three buried our worries and combined our skills to boost the clock's tracking range to the very limits of what's possible. It took a full week. Our efforts bore bitter fruit when the clock began this mournful chiming, and with each strike a hand broke away from the clockface and fell to the floor. First Percy, then Charlie, then Ron, then George, then Fred, then Ginny. We collapsed into each others' arms in grief as the clock kept on tolling for the dead, over and over and over again. 

It wasn't until I was lying awake in the middle of the night unable to sleep, that it occurred to me to wonder why the clock had chimed for far more than six deaths. By dawn I'd thought up a great many unlikely possibilities, but at least some of them were testable. So, if only to pass the time, I spent the next couple of days adapting the clock's new enhancements for application to the Weasley family tapestry. Mum and Dad were gobsmacked when they saw the results. 

The tapestry showed Percy, Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny all having had children. I watched the sorrow on my parents' faces mingle with puzzlement to see perhaps two-hundred years' worth of unnamed descendants woven into the fabric, including a good few dozen several-times-great-grandchildren, presumably living. But then Mum began crying again as it sank in that the portkey accident must have involved a hefty whack of time displacement. It offered the hope that my brothers and sister had lived long, good lives; but at the same time as underlining what the clock had already told her: that they were now all surely dead. 

Eventually, I had to return to my job in Egypt. Dad handed me a two-way mirror and made me swear to contact Mum every single day. I did, and still do; even now that I've transferred back to England. 

Right from the beginning, Dad and I noticed that every time Mum walked past the updated tapestry she would pause, and trace her finger along one of the new branches of descent. It gave Dad an idea, and a project. A few months after, he presented Mum with a second family clock. It shows no faces and no names, but it has a small forest of hands moving back and forth between _'Home'_ , _'School'_ , _'Garden'_ , _'Games'_ , _'Work'_ , _'Travelling'_ , _'Adventures_ ', and the like. It gives Mum some comfort to watch, and whenever a hand points to _'Birthday'_ or _‘Wedding Day’_ , they both cast the ritual blessing charms. Me too, if I'm there. 

Don't ask me if our magic reaches them. I don't think it matters.

— _William Weasley, employee, Gringotts Bank_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My notes for this contain material I haven't used, and maybe one day I'll get back to it. But this chapter has always struck me as a good place to end. So, for now I'm marking this as complete.


End file.
